Sharks' New Boss Makes Rapid Rise

Published 4:00 am, Monday, December 4, 1995

Just call Jim Wiley the picture of upward mobility. He has gone from an International Hockey League head coach to NHL assistant to NHL head coach in about three months.

Asked what his response would have been if someone had told him in September he'd be an NHL coach now, Wiley last night said, "I would have asked what they were smoking or drinking."

But this is no illusion. Wiley is the new boss of the Sharks, taking over for Kevin Constantine, who was fired Saturday. Wiley, brought in from the Sharks' IHL affiliate in Kansas City to be an assistant earlier this season, didn't get the word until about 5 p.m. Saturday that he was in charge. This was some 2 1/2 hours before the Sharks were to face off against the Washington Capitals, and Wiley's debut was a 5-3 success.

"The team played with a lot of energy, enthusiasm and work ethic," Wiley said. "We gave fewer scoring chances. One game doesn't make a season, but (the players) responded to the coaching staff, and I'm part of that."

Wiley has the hockey equivalent of a Three Mile Island clean-up on his hands. The underachieving Sharks bumbled to a 3-18-4 start under Constantine and looked awful doing it. Several trades haven't helped a lot, and the Sharks find themselves in a position where just qualifying for the playoffs would be an accomplishment.

Assistant coaches Wayne Thomas, Mark Kaufman (who came up from Kansas City with Wiley) and Derek Eisler were retained. Wiley is basically an interim coach, though the Sharks are going out of their way not to use that designation. There are several erstwhile NHL coaches floating around -- ex-Montrealer Jacques Demers and former Calgary coach Dave King to name two -- but at least for now, it's Wiley's show.

"I still haven't had a lot of time to digest everything," said Wiley. "I came here to be an assistant under Kevin Constantine and was happy doing it. Everything the last 24-48 hours has been non-stop. I've run a myriad of emotions over that bit of time . . . but I've channeled all my thoughts and energy (to coaching).

The Sharks are hoping that zeal can translate into better performance by the players. Just last week, general manager Dean Lombardi said Constantine was "fine" and that he still had faith in him. But losses at home to Calgary and Vancouver changed the opinions of the folks upstairs pretty quickly. That defeat at the hands of a terrible Calgary team was particularly galling.

"We felt the team wasn't responding and playing up to its potential," Lombardi said. "We don't want the season to get away. We're trying to get the team playing the way it's capable of."

Wiley, 45, who played collegiately at Lake Superior State and has a master's degree from the University of Tulsa, spent parts of five NHL seasons in the 1970s as a player with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks. His modest NHL totals were four goals and 10 assists in 63 games. Wiley is considered more easygoing than Constantine, a taskmaster type.

"I'm not sure of the connotation of players' coach," Wiley said. "I like people. I'm the sort of person who takes time to listen to everything, sometimes to my detriment. If that's what a players' coach is, then that's what I am."

Clearly, Wiley isn't unemotional or aloof. He's thrilled to be running an NHL team, but he probably would have prefered that it not come at the expense of Constantine's job. He said last night he has yet to speak with Constantine at length.

"Kevin is a friend, and his wife is a friend," Wiley said. "He is a very big part of this organization, and he's befriended many people."

However, Constantine couldn't produce a winner this season, and it cost him his job.